"It caused trauma": When 'Modern Family' star Ariel Winter got "inappropriate messages" from older men

Washington DC [US], July 13 : 'Modern Family' fame actress Ariel Winter opened up about her experience of allegedly being preyed upon by older men when she was a child actress in Hollywood, reported Deadline.

Winter discussed her experience while promoting YouTube's true crime docuseries titled 'SOSA Undercover'. This online show follows members of the Safe from Online Sex Abuse nonprofit organisation as they work with law enforcement to uncover and apprehend perpetrators of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.

Ariel Winter was recently seen in one of the episodes, pretending to be a teen girl to catch an alleged sexual predator.

While discussing the show, the actress opened up about her traumatic experience with sexual harassment while she was a child actress.

"I am familiar with male predators because I worked in Hollywood at a young age. I started at age 4. I don't wanna say too much about it, but by the time I was on a laptop and cell phone, I was getting inappropriate messages from older men, and it caused trauma," said Winter to UK Daily Mail as quoted by Deadline.

As a result, Winter said she sought professional help to overcome the trauma from her experience.

"The experiences I had in person and online as a child have affected me so deeply that I've had to go to therapy for it. The movie and TV industry is a dark place," said Winter as quoted by Deadline.

Winter first rose to fame portraying brainiac middle child Alex Dunphy in the popular ABC mockumentary-style sitcom about a chaotic yet loving extended family, a part she landed at just 11 years old.

Previously, Winter also discussed the relentless body-shaming she faced while going through her teen years on camera.

"That was a major part of my teenage years. It was just everywhere. It was every headline I read about myself, like, grown people writing articles about me saying how I looked terrible or pregnant or like a fat slut. I mean, I was 14. It totally damaged my self-esteem," said Winter as quoted by People.

According to Deadline, Winter's experience unfortunately echoes what many young starlets have detailed about their time growing up in the public eye of the entertainment industry, including 'Wednesday' star Jenna Ortega.

The actress shared last year that she left social media after being sent explicit content as a young girl.

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